U.S. House of Representatives

Legend

2012 Congressional Record on Choice Votes

Pro-choice scores for 2012 are based on the following votes.

Senate Votes

Birth-Control Refusal Law. Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, S.1813. Motion to table the Blunt (R-MO) amendment to allow any employer to refuse to cover contraception or any health service required under the health reform law for virtually any reason. Passed 51-48. A pro-choice vote (Y) was in support of the motion to table (3/1/12).

House Votes

Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PreNDA). H.R.3541. Final passage. Franks (R-AZ) bill to criminalize a doctor for failing to determine if the sex of the pregnancy is a factor in a woman's abortion decision. Failed 168-246 under suspension of the rules. A two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required to pass a bill under suspension of the rules. (In this case, 286 votes were needed to pass the bill.) A pro-choice vote (+) was against the bill (5/31/12).

D.C. 20-Week Abortion Ban. District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, H.R.3803. Final passage. Franks (R-AZ) bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks in Washington, D.C., with no exception to protect a woman's health, or in cases of rape, incest, or fetal anomaly. The bill threatens physicians with a two-year prison sentence if they violate the ban and overrides District home rule. Failed 154-220 under suspension of the rules. A two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required to pass a bill under suspension of the rules. (In this case, 289 votes were needed to pass the bill.) A prochoice vote (+) was against the bill (7/31/12).

Party Affiliation

Editor's Note: Occasionally the House or Senate takes only
one vote on a reproductive-rights issue during the session.
In these instances, NARAL's traditional method of calculating
lawmakers' records—by percentage, representing
the sum of all the year's votes—does not accurately reflect
members' positions on reproductive rights. 2012 is a case in
point, with only one vote on reproductive rights in the Senate.
In order to address this circumstance, and in keeping
with past practice, we have indicated each senator's vote
with a "Y" or "N" rather than a numerical percentage.